


as equals

by riahk



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Drabble, F/M, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:55:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29925480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riahk/pseuds/riahk
Summary: A deity-themed drabble inspired by the myth of Eros (Lorenz) and Psyche (Leonie).
Relationships: Lorenz Hellman Gloucester/Leonie Pinelli
Kudos: 4





	as equals

A room dark as pitch, yet warm and inviting as a spring day. Footsteps pattering on stone and kind words guiding her through shadow, soft lips on her bare skin and slender fingers running soothingly through her hair, a lullaby in the form of touch. These are the things Leonie remembers.

In time, more memories come to her, less pleasant: a lamp swinging shakily in one hand and a hunting dagger in the other, its blade anticipating a monster asleep in the bed. Except the elucidating flames cast upon the figure — her lover, her doting paramour — reveal he is no beast. Leonie recognizes him from paintings and stories: purple hair cascading down one side of his face, an elegant nose and smooth alabaster skin that matches great feathery wings, neatly folded against his back as he slumbers. Lorenz, the infamous trickster of love; a god.

"How could you?" he cries, crouched atop the windowsill, clutching the marred flesh where her lamp's oil has burnt him. "I treated you like a queen, a goddess, and you could not do the one thing I asked!"

Shock dulls the surface of Leonie's skin. "I never— I'm sorry," she says, delayed tears streaking down her cheeks. "Lorenz, please don't—"

The beat of his wings as he glides away douses the flames, and Leonie is left unseeing again. She wanders through a chilling void, endless and consuming, the after-image of Lorenz's visage burned into her. A striking silhouette in repose, a serene face that so quickly morphed to anger upon waking. Both beautiful in their own way.

Leonie is drawn from her thoughts by the appearance of a lone pedestal bathed in moonlight. A beautiful lacquered box rests on marble, gold edges lining a surface covered in carefully painted roses. More opulent things to tempt her, even as caution tugs at her outstretched fingers. She draws closer, eyes shimmering with curiosity when the air grows thick with static, laced with dread. Leonie grows tired.

"This box… what's in it?" she asks, the question echoing into the abyss.

"You already know," the abyss calls back. She recognizes the disembodied voice, equates it with gentle guidance. And her memories, her awareness, all come rushing back like a surge of frost: a gentle river cutting through the canyons of the underworld, a queen of the depths both frightening and breathtaking in equal measure. A trick, a trial. A failure.

She sinks to her knees. "I'm dead," Leonie laments. After all she's overcome in the name of love, in the name of proving her mortal resolve to the gods, her journey ends here. Another human making human mistakes, hopeless in the wake of the unforgiving divine.

"No," the voice says. "Not quite." Leonie lifts her face from her hands. "Luckily, your love is not so one-sided. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed." The words are kind and bright, like the first bloom after winter. "You've done well, Leonie."

At the sound of her name the stark surroundings dissolve into purple mist, a swelling force assaulting her body. Her lungs gasp for air as she feels earth beneath her palms and an arm snaked around her shoulder. Naturally, she knows the man holding her even before opening her eyes, but she lets herself look upon him anyway. "Lorenz," she croaks, pounding her chest as the weight of life returns to her. "I thought you wanted nothing to do with a foolish, disobedient mortal."

Almond-shaped eyes shine with compassion, pulling Leonie to a seat and clasping luminous hands over hers. "I was the foolish one," he says, tucking a strand of loose red hair behind her ear. "For keeping you shrouded in ignorance, and thinking a god and mortal could not love each other as equals." Leonie doesn't realize her gaze has drifted shyly to the ground until Lorenz nudges her chin up to look at him again. "You've more than proven yourself an extraordinary woman, Leonie."

Tears bud at the edges of her eyes, but she shakes them away defiantly and pulls him into an embrace, inhaling the pleasant aroma of roses. "I love you, Lorenz," she whines.

"And I love you, Leonie," he replies. "I never stopped." She giggles as he squeezes her waist. "Hold on tight, alright?"

Before she can ask why, there is the jolting sound of wings flapping, a stomach-dropping sensation as they soar upward. Leonie hums nervously, only relaxing when Lorenz strengthens his hold and guides her lips to his, tasting like the richest gardens of paradise.

When the couple lands they are among multi-hued clouds, wisps snaking around a stretch of stone from which an elegant fountain spews forth shimmering liquid. Lorenz procures a goblet and dips into the spring, offering the drink to a wide-eyed Leonie. "While I do recognize your merits as a mortal," he begins, watching her fingers curl curiously around the cup. "I want to be with you forever. This elixir will make that possible."

She exhales shakily. "I'll be a god?"

Lorenz nods. "If you wish."

Leonie doesn't let decisions eat away at her; she brings the concoction to her lips and chugs. It is sweet, sour, salty, every pleasant flavor she can imagine, and as her head tilts back Lorenz plants kisses along her throat, unable to keep his hands off her any longer. She moans through gulps as he shrugs the straps of her tunic off, sucking along the skin of her shoulder down to her breasts.

Her body shudders against him as she swallows the final drops, dropping the chalice as her fingers dig into Lorenz's hair, euphoria swimming through her veins. "Forever," she mumbles, barely able to fathom the prospect. She can fathom happiness, now, at least. Heat concentrates in the space between Leonie's shoulder blades as her back arches and vibrant butterfly wings sprout from her skin.

Lorenz rises back to meet her eyes, admiring the new look. "Forever, yes," he says with a mirthful laugh. "I think you'll fit right in."

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, thank you for reading! This piece was written for the ‘Garden of Eden’ deities AU project, I encourage you to check it out! https://fe3hdeityzine.crd.co/
> 
> This prompt was such a delight, Leonie and Lorenz’s dynamic fits very well into the tale of Eros and Psyche! I’ve wanted to write this pair for a while so big thanks to the requester. :)
> 
> I’m also on Twitter @riahk!


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